Traveling is for the bored and the stupid

Everything with purpose is good, and all statements have exceptions. Life is not an absolute game but rather a giant grey area that infinite ideas can interpret differently. That’s what makes it so interesting. But for most people today, travel has become more about escaping their own daily lives and status. 

The bored try to escape their daily life and the stupid chase status.

I was in a cafe the other day on the Upper West Side and overheard two young people discussing travel plans as if they were comparing wardrobes. One had a stacked itinerary in Asia, and the other planned to visit Copenhagen to drink coffee in a cafe similar to the one we were sitting in. Travel has been sold to us as the ultimate form of culture and the only way to experience life differently for a while. Yet most people I know simply use it to mask their lack of core purpose or passion in their own life. 

Life without any purpose or passion is like playing a game at a casino where no skill is required, like slot machines. You simply pull the lever and pray to win. 

Switzerland will make me happy, I am sure of it! 

Oh no, actually, it’s India I am looking for…

Whoops, how about Spain?

Instead of playing the slot machine my whole life, I’d much prefer to participate in a game where I can progress over time, like building a daily life that feels like a vacation. By building a community and a home I love so much that I never want to leave. 

For me, that’s a tennis court, some sun, people I love, and a cold brew. 

To the traveler heading nowhere, I pray you find a paradise of your own one day.